Name: One Pan Chicken and Rice Dinner
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 29 min
Ingredients: 1 ½ lb chicken breast cut in two inch thickness; ½ - 1 tsp sea salt; ½ tsp pepper; 1 tsp Italian seasoning; 1 tsp paprika; ½ tsp onion powder; 3 Tbsp unsalted butter (separated); 3-4 cloves garlic (minced); 1 cup long grain white rice; 2½ cups chicken broth (we use low sodium); 2 cups fresh baby spinach (chopped); 2 oz freshly grated parmesan cheese

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This cozy and delicious one pan chicken and rice dinner recipe will quickly become a favorite family dinner. Perfectly seared herbed chicken nestled in rice and finished with a touch of parmesan cheese–it’s cozy, so flavorful and as easy as making dinner can get! Only a few minutes of prep and less than 30 minutes to cook–you will love it!

Pan with chicken and rice covered with chopped parsley.

Ingredient Notes
Recipe Variations
Step-By-Step Instructions
Recipe Tips
Storage
Other One Pan Dinners
One Pan Chicken and Rice Dinner Recipe
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We live on one pan meals— they make life so much easier. If I can toss everything into a dish and end up with a full meal from it, I am a happy human.

I am not usually a huge chicken and rice meal girl, but this buttery herbed one pan chicken and rice has my whole heart. It’s cozy, comforting and so flavorful, but with such little work!

If you love simple dinner recipes that come together in just one dish, try these as well: One-Pot Ground Beef Stroganoff, Creamy One Pot Pasta, One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese, Simple Ground Turkey Skillet Dinner or this Creamy Orzo With Chicken!

Why We Love This One Pan Chicken and Rice Dinner

The first time I made this one pan dinner, my husband, who is usually bored by rice, couldn’t stop raving about it.

He said the rice was even better than the chicken and that’s how I knew this dinner was a winner!

This chicken and rice dinner is:

made in only one pan
a whole meal–protein, carbs and veggies in one recipe (packs in 48 grams of protein per serving!)
naturally gluten free
uses kitchen and pantry staples
is such a simple dinner recipe!

Now that I have this recipe, I can’t wait to create other variations using the same base ingredients, so stay tuned!

Ingredient Notes

Broth, chicken, spinach and other ingredients on surface needed to make recipe.

I use skinless boneless chicken breasts for this recipe and cut it length-twise into about two in wide pieces. I don’t suggest using chicken tenderloins as they tend to be much thinner and will end up dry and over cooked. If you have smaller chicken breasts, you can use those, just pound to even thickness, about 3/4-1 inch. I like to make recipes practical for what is usually on hand–we always have chicken breasts but when I do a grocery delivery, I usually end up with large chicken breasts so just cut them down a bit smaller to make more even cook time with the rice.
- Chicken thighs could be used in this recipe in place of the breast, but use boneless, skinless chicken thighs or the cooking time won’t match up well at all with the rice.
A basic long grain white rice is a MUST in this recipe. Different types of rice cook very differently. Do not use brown rice, minute rice or any quick cooking rice. Quick or minute rice will become mushy and cook too quickly. Brown rice takes much longer to cook than white rice so it will not be cooked after the set times. We typically use jasmine rice or basmati, but any long grain white rice should work well!
The butter in this dish adds a richness to the whole recipe so I strongly recommend using it versus a cooking oil like olive oil.

Recipe Variations

add more veggies: you can sauté onions, carrots, celery in as well, but I wanted this to be super easy and that would have required a bunch of chopping and prep. You could toss in some frozen broccoli or peas to simmer and cook as well with the rice.
use fresh herbs: Toss in a few sprigs of fresh thyme, rosemary, oregano and more with the rice and simmer it to cook the rice, it will really add to the dish! You can also finish this one pan chicken and rice with some fresh herbs to make the flavor that much more amazing.
add a splash of cream: you could make this a creamier mixture by stirring in some heavy cream with the parmesan in the end.
skip the meat! Ok, this may not make a lot of sense, but hear me out. The rice in this dish is AMAZING. You could easily just make the rice as a side for another dinner and skip the chicken.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1: Slice the chicken lengthwise into about 2 inch wide strips. Pound the chicken pieces into about ¾ – 1 inch thickness. Pat dry with a paper towel and season on both sides with the salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, onion powder and paprika. You can go as generous on the seasoning as desired!

Step 2: Heat a large skillet or sauté pan over medium high heat. Melt two tablespoons of butter in the heated pan. Add the minced garlic and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly until fragrant. Add the chicken to the heated pan and sear for about 2 minutes per side, not touching it at all until flipping. Once the chicken is seared, remove from the pan and set aside on a plate. It will not be fully cooked at this time.

Add the remaining tablespoon of butter. Add the rice and cook to toast it slightly for about 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn or get stuck to the pan. Add in the broth and chopped spinach and stir to combine.

Broth, rice and chopped spinach added to skillet.

Step 3: Add the remaining tablespoon of butter. Add the rice and cook to toast it slightly for about 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn or get stuck to the pan. Add in the broth and chopped spinach and stir to combine.

Chicken pieces added to pan with broth and rice.

Step 4: Bring the rice and broth to a gentle boil. Once it begins to boil, reduce heat to medium-low/low low heat,(whatever temperature maintains a low boil) add the chicken back into the pan, laying it gently over the rice, making sure it is not fully immersed in the rice. Cover and allow it to simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. Chicken should also be an internal temperature of 165°F.

One pan chicken and rice prepared in skillet.

Step 5: Cover and allow it to simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender–try not to open the lid more than once if possible for at least 12 minutes before checking. Chicken should also be an internal temperature of 165°F.

One pan chicken and rice with spinach added in.

Step 6: Once the chicken and rice is cooked, push the chicken to the side to add the parmesan and stir it to melt into the rice. Serve topped with more parmesan!

Recipe Tips

Once the lid is closed and the rice is cooking, try not to disturb it. The steam in the pan is needed to cook the rice and the chicken until both are done. Lifting the lid will cause some of that steam to escape and the chicken and rice will not cook as evenly and as timely.
Do not use brown rice in this one pan chicken and rice. Brown rice takes much longer to cook so you will end up with very dry chicken by the time the liquid is all absorbed.
Do not use any form of minute rice/quick rice/parboiled rice. Quite the opposite, these types of rice will cook too quickly and you will end up with a pile of mush.

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days. When reheating, you may want to add an extra splash of broth to the rice.

To freeze, allow the chicken and rice to cool completely before transferring to a freezer safe container. You can freeze for up to 3 months.